Tennis-court marker



July 17, 1923.

1,462,145 I M. K. MURRAY TENNIS COURT MARKER Filed July 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llVl/E/VTOR jffi'alaal mrcw July 17, 1923.

, 4 1.462.145 M. K. MURRAY TENNIS COURT MARKER Filed July '7, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l/VI/E/V TOR Patented July 17, 1923.

ATE T OFFICE.

MIQHAEL K. MURRAY, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

. TENNIS-COURT MARKER.

Application filed Ju1y 7, 1922. Serial No. 573,485.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MICHAEL K. MURRAY, a citizen of the United States, residin at Bloomfield, in the county of Essex and tate of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis-Court Markers and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates, generally, to im provements in apparatus for marking the lines of tennis courts; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a perambu lating type of wet marker which may be wheeled along the line to be marked, and which will thereupon automatically transfer from a source of supply a marking fluid for application to the surface of the court along said line to be marked.

. The invention has for its principal object to provide a multiple wheeled apparatus over onev traction wheel of which runs an endless beltissuing from a reservoir holding the marking fluid, whereby said fluid is ap plied to the court, the traction wheels being so arranged that the belt supporting wheel is properly guided to run a true and straight course, without wabbling, and without tendency to depart from the desired straight course of the line to be marked.

Other objects of the invention residein several'detail features of the apparatus, to

wit, the means for agitating the fluid to maintain the line or other coloring material in eflicient liquid suspension; the means for tighteningthe marking belt; and the means for cleaning the portions of the belt running back intothe reservoir,-so that'dirt and other undesirable material will not be carried into the supply ofmarking fluid tov undulyddiscolor the same.

Still other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of the same.

With the various ob ects of the invention in view, the same consists, primarily, inthe novel arrangements and combinations of parts making up. tennis court marker hereinafter set forth; and, the invention also contraction and marker wheel 5.

ping wheel 17.

sists in the details of the construction of said parts all of which will be hereinafter more fully described and finally embodied in the claims appended hereto.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the tennis court marker made according to and embodying the principles of thisinvention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the agitating paddles.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the hereinab'ove described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to said drawings, the reference character 1 indicates a pair of laterally spaced apart side frames between whichis fixed a tank or. reservoir member 2 which is open at its upper end. Said side frames 1 are carried inwardly'at the frontend of said tank, and then terminate in downwardlyand forwardly inclined arms or extensions 3, between the free ends of which is mounted a transverse forward axle 1 upon which is journaled a forward centrally disposed combined Said side frames 1 are also carried inwardly at the rear end of the tank, and then terminate 'in upwardly and rearwardly inclined arms or extensions 6, between which is rigidly secured a handle member 7.

Extending downwardly and rearwardly along each side of the tank 2, from the side frames 1, are frame extensions 8, between the free ends of which is supported a transverse rear axle 9, upon the ends of which are journaleda pair of traction wheels 10.

Fixed respectively upon the opposite inner sides of said tank 2, in a suitable location are apair of opposed bearing members 11. Journaled in and extending between said bearing members 11 is a transverse shaft or axle 12 upon which are fixed, a plurality of radial arms or spokes 13, to the outer ends .of which areifixed paddle members 14; said paddle members having bifurcated free ends 15 providing indented seats 16. Supported upon said paddle members, so as to extend through said indented seats 16 is a circumferential -band element constitut ng a dip- Journaled in and between the side walls of the tank 2 adjacent to the forward portion of itsopcn top is a transverse shaft 18 upon which is mounted an idler pulley 19. Pivotally connected with the opposite ends of said shaft 18 are a pair of upwardly extending tank 2. Bolts 25 engaged through said slotted ends 2-1- and with the side walls ofthe tank, serve to lock said links or stays rigidly in a desired adjusted position.

Running over said combined .traction and marker wlieelf),'thence OVGISfllCl idler pulley 19,,=thence into sa1d=tank 2'to pass under and then forwardly over said dipping wheel 17,

outwardly over said adjustable idler pulley '22 and'thence back'to the combined'traction and marker wheel5 is an endless marking belt 26.

As will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings, said marking belt 26 may be tightened, or in other words its tension may determined, by swinging upwardly against the same, to exert the desired degree of pressure thereon, the adjustable idler pulley 22, the latter being maintained in the desired adjusted position bylocking or binding the links or stays 23 against the sides of the tank, by screwing home the bolts 25, and in this way assuring a proper running of the marking belt 26 over-and between the dipping wheel 17 and the marker wheel 5.

In order to prevent dirt or other foreign material collected upon the markingbelt 26, by its contact with the ground during the marking operation, from being carried back into the tank 2, with the possible effect of unduly discoloring the marking liquid, or otherwise injuriously affecting the same, a wiping or cleaning means is provided. which is movable into engagement with the re turning portion of the marking belt as it passes back into the tank. This wiping or cleaning means comprises a pair of arms 27 pivotally connected by their lower ends to the extensions 3, so as to extend upwardly toward the marking belt 26. Journaled in and so as to extend between the free ends of said arms 27 is a shaft 28 upon which is rotata'bly mounted a wiping roller 29, made of rubber, or any other suitable material. As thus mounted said wiping or cleaning, roller 29 may be swung either into or out of engagement with the marking belt 26, and in order to retain the same in either of such positions, I provide a pair of stays 30 which are pivotally connected at their forward ends with the shaft 28, and which are provided at their rearward ends with slotted portions 31 which are engaged by lock bolts 32, or similar means, whereby the stays to themarki'ng'belt, as-will be clearly understood from an inspection of Figure 2 of the drawings. lVhen using the marking device on grass courts, where there is very little likelihood of picking up an undue amount of dirt upon the marking belt, the wiping or cleaning means maybe set to out of'serv- ,ice ,position, but when marking "dirt or clay courts, it is highly 'desirableto have *the wiping or cleaning-means in operation, since on such courts, there is an apparent tendency fol-the marking belt to pic'k up dirt from the court surface, which would be'detrimental to the marking liquid if allowed to be conveyed'bythe return run ofsaid mark- 'ing belt back into "the tank.

, In operating the apparatus, the tank is filled'with 'alime solution, or other desirable marking liquid of white "color. 'The op erator then places the apparatus at the beginningofthe tennis court lineto be marked, so that the marker wheel is directed for movement along such line, whereupon the Operator pushes or wheels the apparatus forwardto cause the marker wheel to travel along such line. By reason ofthe fact that the line'to'be marked, without any tendency to deviate therefrom, and consequently the marker wheel is compelled to maintain a true and straight course without wabb'ling, this being more readily accomplished thecause the operator does not'have to support the weight of the tank and contents, but merely gives his entire attention to 'propeh ling the apparatus forward. As the anarker wheel rotates under the forward propulsionv of the apparatus, the marking belt 26 is caused to travel over the same, in the direction of the arrows appearing in Figure '2, and consequently the belt is caused to travel over the dipping wheel 17,, to be thereby submerged in the marking liquid, passing thence out of the "tank '2 and over the adjustable idler pulley 22 to and over the marker wheel carrying thereupon a continuousl y renewed supply of the marking liquid, which as the belt is caused to contact with the surface of the court is transferred to the latter to produce the desired line, the return course of the belt passing o'verthe idler pulley 19 back into the tank and over the dipping wheel so that the supply of marking liquid may be renewed thereon.

Inasmuch as the lime solution, which is so commonly. employed as the line marking substance, is composed of a suspension of lime in water, and since such suspension is likely "as be quickly diluted by s ttlin of the lime and the colorv strength of the liquid thereby impaired, it is an important feature of my invention'to provide inassociation with the dipping wheel aimeans for keeping the solution agitated against such settlement of the lime while the apparatus is in use. The preferred form of such agitating means is illustrated by the paddle elements associated with said dipping wheel,"altho I do not wish to confine myself entirely to such form of agitator, since more or less variation in the construction and arrangement of such elements is possible without departing from the scope of this invention. I am aware that some changes, other than those already indicated, may be made in the various arrangements and combinations of the several devices and parts, without departing fromthe scope of this invention as above described, and as defined in the ap pended claims. Hence, I do not limit my invention to the exact arrangements and combinations as described in the foregoing specification, nor do I confine myself to the exact mechanical details of the construction of said parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

I claim g 1. A tennis court marker, comprising a frame provided at its forward end with a central marker wheel and at its rearward dipping wheel within 65 end witha pair of laterally spaced traction wheels, a tank supported by said frame in the rear of said marker wheel, a rotatable dipping wheel within said tank, idler guide pulleys associated with the forward end of said tank, a marking belt arranged to run over said marker wheel, dipping'wheel and idler guide pulleys, means for adjusting one of said idler guide pulleys to regulate the tension of said belt, a belt cleaning means supported from said frame intermediate said marker wheel and said tank to engage the return course of said belt, and means for retaining said cleaningmeans in either in service or out of service positions.

2. A tennis court marker, comprising a frame provided at its forward end with a central marker wheel and at its rearward end with a pair of laterally spaced traction wheels, a tank supported by said frame in the rear of said marker wheel, a rotatable saidtank, idler guide pulleys associated with the forward end of said tank, a marking belt arranged to run over said marker wheel, dipping wheel and idler guide pulleys, a belt cleaning means supported from said frame intermediate said marker wheel and said tank to engage the return course of sa-id belt, and means for retaining said cleaning means in either in service or out of service positions.

3. A tennis court marker, comprising a wheeled support, a tank afiixed to said sup port, one'of the wheels of said support constituting a marker wheel, arotatable dipping wheel within said tank, an endless mark ngibelt' arranged to run over and between said dippingwheel and said marker wheel,means intermediate said dipping wheel and said marker wheel for guiding saidbelt intol'and out of said tank, and

agitatormeans associated with said dipping wheel for stirring the marking solution carried within said tank.

4. A tennis court marker, comprising a frame provided at itsforward end with a central marker wheel and at its rearward end with a pair of laterally spaced traction wheels, a tank supported by said frame in" the rear of said marker wheel, a rotatable dipping wheel within said tank, idler guide pulleys associated with the forward end of said tank, a marking belt arranged to run over said marker wheel, dipping wheel and idler guide pulleys, and a plurality of radial agitator paddles associated with said dipping wheel.

5. A tennis court marker, comprising a frame provided at its forward end with a central marker wheel and at its rearward end with a pair of laterally spaced traction wheels, a tank supported by said frame in the rear of said marker wheel, a rotatable dipping wheel within said tank, idler guide pulleys associated with the forward end of said tank, a marking belt arranged to run over said marker wheel, dipping wheeland idler guide pulleys, a plurality of radial agitatorpaddles associated with said dipping wheel, and means for adjusting one of said idler guide pulleys to regulate the tension of said belt.

6. A tennis court marker, comprising a frame provided at its forward end with a central marker wheel and at its rearward said'tank, a marking belt arranged to run over :said marker wheel, dipping wheel and idler guide pulleys, a plurality of radial agitator paddles associated with said dipping wheel, means for adjusting one of said idler 7 guide pulleys to regulate the tension ofsaid belt, a belt cleaning means supported from said frame intermediate said marker wheel,

and said tank to engage the return course vof said belt, and means for retaining said cleaning means in either in service 7 or out of service positions.

7. A tennis court marker, comprising a frame provided at its forward end with'a central marker wheel and at its rearward end with a pair of laterally spaced traction wheels, a tank supported by said frame in the rear ofsaid marker wheel, a rotatable a s means dipping wheelwithin saidtank, idler. guide cleaning meansin either in service or pulleys associated with thezforward end, of out; of service, position. I

said tank,,a marking belt arranged to run 7 In testimony that I claim the invention over said marker Wheel, dipping Wheel and setferthabove' I have hereunto set my hand 5 idler guide pulleys, a plurality of radial agithis 27thday of June, 1922.

tator paddles associatedlwith said dipping Wheel, a belt cleaning means snpportedzfrom MICHAEL K. MURRAYQ said frame intermediate said marker Wheel Witnesses: and said tank to engage the return coursezof GEORGE D. RICHARDS,

10 said belt, and means i for retaining said l/VA-LLAGE VAIL. 1 

